Chapter 102
After welcoming the morning with a slightly clearer mind, our Green Forest decided to hold a meeting.
The topic, naturally, was how to handle the current situation and what to do after resolving it.
Those participating in the meeting were all Green Forest Executives, excluding Bang Sam-i.
Although not an Executive, the Imugi had also claimed a seat, saying she wanted to participate in the meeting.
“Has Bang Sam-i woken up?”
“…No, not yet.”
Naturally, the atmosphere in the Meeting Hall was heavy.
It couldn’t be helped.
The number of our Green Forest Members who died in this incident with the Blood Demon Corpse King exceeded ten. Furthermore, Bang Sam-i, a Founding Member, was lying there as a cripple, so there was no way the atmosphere could be good.
“…”
“…”
In particular, Dongryong, who thought Bang Sam-i ended up like that because of him, kept his mouth shut tight and his head bowed.
The Haomun Leader’s expression wasn’t bright either, perhaps due to the guilt of not being able to treat Bang Sam-i properly.
I, too, naturally wasn’t in the mood to do anything, but as the Chief Stronghold Master of the Green Forest, I wasn’t in a position to stay still, so I forced myself to speak.
“Uh…, so we’re going to hold a meeting now among ourselves, let’s see…, the first item on the agenda is…”
I glanced at the document I had prepared in advance, and my eyes trembled.
[No…, fuck… Should I push the first agenda back…]
I felt like bringing up the first agenda would ruin the mood again, but since it was the most important thing in our current situation, I spoke hesitantly.
“Um…, it’s about what we should do with the fallen Bang Sam-i.”
“…”
“…”
Saying Bang Sam-i’s name out loud made the surrounding atmosphere grow even colder.
Yeah, I Understand.
It must hurt their hearts to see Bang Sam-i, who had shared their joys and sorrows for the longest time, end up like that.
Still, we had to take some sort of measure for Bang Sam-i. We couldn’t just leave him as a cripple like that forever.
I let out a sigh and asked the Haomun Leader.
“First of all…, I’m just asking in case…, is there a way to fix Bang Sam-i’s dantian?”
As I said, I was really just asking just in case, and I knew very well that there was no hope.
Restoring a shattered dantian was beyond difficult; it was nearly impossible.
Unless a Divine Physician from legends were to appear, there was no answer.
However…
“Actually…”
“Hmm…?”
“It’s not that there is absolutely no way.”
“…What?”
…An unexpected answer flowed from the Haomun Leader.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It is true that Great Hero Bangsam’s dantian is cracked and unable to function properly…, but it hasn’t completely shattered yet. Even though it is highly unstable, its fragments still remain in place.”
Tak-.
As soon as he heard those words, Dongryong jumped up from his seat and shouted like a ginseng Hunter who had found wild ginseng.
“T-then, does that mean there is a way to fix Bang Sam-i’s dantian?”
“I don’t know whether to say there is…, or there isn’t…”
“Hurry up and tell us!”
The Haomun Leader hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
Everyone present in this place listened closely to her words.
“It is simpler than you might think. We just need to push a purer and stronger energy into the broken dantian to Seal it and help it settle back into place.”
“…”
What the Haomun Leader was describing was the standard method for treating someone with internal injuries. But I soon realized why she had hesitated to answer.
“I-if there is such a method, we should hurry and treat Bang Sam-i…!”
“However, choosing this method requires two conditions. First, we need someone to circulate the energy and restore the dantian on behalf of Great Hero Bangsam, who has become a cripple. This is not an easy task, so it cannot be done unless by a Master of a high realm.”
“Don’t we have the Leader! Leader! You can do it, right?”
“…”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
This wasn’t a lie. In truth, if Bang Sam-i had suffered a simple internal injury, I would have reached out with both hands to help, even at the risk of danger to myself.
However…, Bang Sam-i’s current case involved a problem with his dantian, which was on a completely different level from a simple internal injury.
Unaware of this, Dongryong raised his hand and spoke like a man who had seen a ray of hope.
“Then what is the second method!”
“The second method is…”
This was where the truly difficult problem began. I answered on behalf of the hesitating Haomun Leader.
“…An elixir would be needed, and one that harbors an extremely pure and noble energy at that.”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
An elixir, exactly.
And not just any elixir would do.
A problem with the dantian meant that there was also a problem with his Innate True Qi.
Innate True Qi is an energy purer than any other.
To fill this gap, at least a renowned elixir was required Under Heaven. Furthermore, those with heavy yang or yin energy had to be excluded, making the number of options extremely limited.
Unaware of this, Dongryong excitedly shouted for an elixir.
“…An elixir, an elixir! Leader! Do you happen to have any elixirs stashed away?!”
“…If I did, I would have eaten it already.”
“Then I will go get one! Haomun Leader! Give me a list of what needs to be fetched! I will depart immediately!”
Flames blazed in Dongryong’s eyes as he spoke. He looked as if he would immediately sprint across Under Heaven if told to find the herb of immortality.
I let out a sigh and calmed Dongryong down.
“…Dongryong, finding such a renowned elixir is no easy task. It would be easier to find a needle in a desert. If you leave recklessly like this, the next time you and I reunite will be decades later in front of some nameless tombstone.”
It wasn’t a joke; finding an elixir was truly that difficult.
After I first realized this was a World within a Novel, the very first thing I did after running away from home was to search for elixirs.
However, even with my fragmented knowledge of the Original Novel, I never even caught a glimpse of an elixir in the end.
So there was no way Dongryong could find one.
Of course, I could perfectly Understand Dongryong’s desire to fix Bang Sam-i’s body by any means necessary.
Furthermore…, I felt the same way as Dongryong.
“Right…, it is difficult, but… Haomun Leader, what kind of elixir is needed?”
That was why I rested my chin on my hand and asked the Haomun Leader. Of course, I knew that finding an elixir was like plucking a star from the sky.
Still…, it wouldn’t be a Leader’s Duty to just sit still when a Subordinate was lying sick in bed, would it?
However…
“…The first thing that comes to mind is Shaolin’s Great Restoration Pill.”
“…Great Restoration…”
…My will was broken by her next words.
The Great Restoration Pill of the Shaolin Temple…
Unaware that I had momentarily lowered my head, Dongryong shouted in excitement.
“Did you say Shaolin? Understood. Leader! Let us depart!”
“…Where do we depart? To the Shaolin Temple?”
“Yes, I will gather a few men. Let’s storm the place immediately.”
“…”
This Bastard was way too excited.
Otherwise, a Martial Artist wouldn’t be able to so easily suggest storming the Shaolin Temple.
Where was Shaolin?
Was it not the Big Dipper of the Nine Great Sects and One Alliance, a place that had maintained its position as the highest Sect of the Righteous Faction for hundreds of years without ever losing it?
We had fought against many prestigious families of the Righteous Faction, such as the Shanxi Yu Family and the Sichuan Tang Family, but we had only faced fragments of those families.
The Great Restoration Pill, which Shaolin considered a Priceless Treasure, would undoubtedly be located in the deepest and safest place within Shaolin.
That meant we would have to face the entirety of Shaolin to obtain the Great Restoration Pill.
And would we only be facing Shaolin?
Shaolin was the very pride of the Righteous Faction’s Murim Alliance. The moment we laid our hands on the Great Restoration Pill, the martial artists of the Murim Alliance would probably descend upon us like a Wolf Pack.
No matter how I thought about it, bringing back the Great Restoration Pill made no sense.
Rejected.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, I asked the Haomun Leader the next question.
“Haomun Leader… The Great Restoration Pill will be difficult. So, is there anything else that could work?”
“If it’s something else…, Gongcheongseokyu also comes to mind.”
“Hah…, fuck.”
Gongcheongseokyu, which appeared as a top-tier elixir in any Martial Arts story, would be even harder to obtain than the Great Restoration Pill.
Perhaps thinking it made no sense even as she said it, the Haomun Leader sighed and pulled something out from her chest.
“Hmm?”
It was an old wooden box emitting a faint fragrance, an item that somehow looked Familiar.
“Huh? That looks somewhat Familiar…”
The Youngest seemed to share my thoughts, tilting his head as he looked at the wooden box.
Click-.
“…!”
Soon, the wooden box opened, and the moment a faint scent of willow wafted out, I was able to recognize what it was.
“It is the Willow Flower Pill, considered the best among the elixirs of the Shanxi Yu Family.”
“Wait, what-! Didn’t we sell that back to the Shanxi Yu Family?”
I was certain we had sold it back to Somyung, hadn’t we? There hadn’t been any further mention of it, so I assumed the transaction had been completed smoothly, but why was that in the Haomun Leader’s hands?
“I secretly set aside a few items in advance.”
“…”
…It seemed Somyung had been played for a pushover once again.
Anyway, that wasn’t very important. The Willow Flower Pill currently in the Haomun Leader’s hands might not compare to the Great Restoration Pill or Gongcheongseokyu, but it is still a renowned elixir in its own right.
Furthermore, because it contained the characteristics of the Shanxi Yu Family, its energy was extremely mild and Gentle.
With a bit of expectation, I asked the Haomun Leader.
“Can you perhaps treat Bang Sam-i with that?”
However…
“…No, unfortunately, it cannot do that.”
…The Haomun Leader shook her head at my question.
“Although the Willow Flower Pill is an elixir containing mild energy…, the energy it possesses is ultimately insufficient to treat a dantian.”
“Ah…”
“Instead, it should be able to improve his condition. For now, I plan to use this on Great Hero Bangsam.”
“…Right, thank you.”
I was grateful for her consideration, but it would certainly be difficult to fully cure Bang Sam-i with that.
I scratched my head at the difficult situation and let out a sigh.
“Haa…, won’t some incredible elixir just fall from somewhere…”
But right then…
Nom-.
“…”
…I saw the Imugi take a piece of candy from the center of the Meeting Hall table and pop it into her mouth.
“…Leader, where are you looking…, ah.”
“…Now that I think about it, an Imugi Naedan is an exceptionally outstanding elixir…”
As I stared intently at her, the other people in the Meeting Hall also began to stare at her.
And by the time the Imugi noticed this fact…
“…?”
Every gaze in the Meeting Hall was already directed at her.